


"Queer, certainly!"

by tiger_moran



Category: Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms, Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Analysis, Character Analysis, M/M, Meta, Queer Themes, not fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-06
Updated: 2013-08-06
Packaged: 2017-12-22 15:18:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/914778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiger_moran/pseuds/tiger_moran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is not fic, this is my analysis of Moriarty and Moran in canon and why reading them and their relationship as queer is a perfectly valid and plausible interpretation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Queer, certainly!"

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Tumblr but it took so long to write I'm not just wasting all that time and effort by having it get lost in the depths of all my posts there, so I'm posting it here too.
> 
> (Disclaimer: The title is from a line in The Valley of Fear. Yes I know queer has a completely different meaning there, it was just too good a line to pass up when writing something like this.)

On why I think Moriarty and Moran being canonically queer and in a same-gender relationship is an extremely valid interpretation, because I have actually seen some people insist that they can't possibly really be in a same-gender relationship because Moran is canonically straight and any or all shipping of them is an actually implausible fantasy. That is not true. A character's sexual orientation not being established means exactly that, their sexual orientation is not established. It does not make them canonically straight. Straight is just one option, statistically more likely perhaps, but it is not the norm, it is not the default, and either or both characters being gay or bisexual or any other flavour of queer/not-straight is perfectly plausible, especially when one looks at other factors in the texts. 

Personally I read Moran as bisexual and Moriarty as asexual (but not completely celibate) and aromantic but who can form emotional attachments (very rarely) to men, thus they are capable of forming an intimate attachment which is more or less of a romantic nature and which possesses a sexual element too.

So let us consider:

**Villainy and vice:**

Put simply, they're the villains. They are not 'the good guys', they are not the characters who people will (rightly or wrongly) come to associate the most as representing the author/creator himself, they are not the heroes who (mostly) abide by the law. They're the ones who break the laws, who don't care about taboos, who go against society's moral and ethical codes and commit often very serious crimes, and as such it is far more likely that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might have imagined them as some flavour of queer or in a homosexual relationship rather than his heroes, not necessarily because he actually thought himself that homosexuality was sinful but because sodomy at that time was illegal and homosexuality was not viewed favourably, and as a further indication that these two men simply don't care that what they do breaks the law and goes against everything society and the church and the medical profession and so on say is right and wrong.

Here are two characters who routinely break the law anyway; might they not also be prepared to break the law in another (in fact actually rather trivial) way, i.e. by having an intimate and sexual relationship?

**Rumours, scandal and the army connection:**

"Dark rumours gathered round him in the university town" - Holmes on Moriarty in  _The Final Problem_

"Without any open scandal, he still made India too hot to hold him" - Holmes on Moran in  _The Empty House_

Both Moriarty and Moran are connected with past rumours or scandal. The fact that these rumours and scandals are not elaborated on means they can be plausibly interpreted as being somehow sexual and/or romantic in nature. Surely if either or both had been involved in a really serious scandal, say involvement with murder, rape, serious assaults, etc, they would not have simply been able to continue with their lives as they have done, even if there was never any concrete evidence against them. Also surely it is very likely Holmes himself would have said something more specific had Moriarty or Moran committed any very serious crime in the past and got away with it, rather than leaving things so vague.

Perhaps too Moriarty, as an unmarried man and described as "ascetic-looking" by Holmes, was suspected of being homosexual because he did not seem to associate with or be interested in women. That is of course not proof that he actually  _is_  homosexual, but it can be reasonably interpreted as such, or that he is asexual but romantically or emotionally attracted to men.

And if Moran had done something  _really_  bad, such as assaulting an officer, he probably would have been prosecuted and/or kicked out the army or perhaps even executed, but instead he retired (he was not, contrary to popular opinion, canonically dishonourably discharged). He made "India too hot to hold him" but was not prosecuted or discharged (and was certainly not executed) for any crime.

Moran is canonically a card cheat so perhaps then he was caught cheating. Except, no, this is very unlikely because if he'd been previously exposed as a cheat even in India that would surely have followed him back to London and seen him prohibited from joining his various clubs and playing cards there.

This scandal then I think was most likely sexual in nature, and perhaps not just a case of Moran sleeping with someone like another officer's wife (although that's definitely plausible too) but was perhaps homosexual in nature. Yes sodomy was illegal and looked down upon but as a courageous officer of good breeding and with a seemingly respected father, I think it is possible he was forced by those above him to "retire" from the army so as to avoid an open scandal and prosecution for sodomy, and also as a means to avoid tainting the overall reputation of the army too.

Also I think the fact that these were only rumours and that there was no open scandal is highly suggestive that they were both involved in acts of a more private nature, most likely sexual relationships, for which there was actually very little proof of their 'guilt'. Had they killed someone for instance there probably would have been a body; had they assaulted someone there would have presumably been a victim to speak out or at least signs of injury on the victim. But if both were suspected of involvement in or actually involved in illegal relations then to take it anywhere beyond mere rumour/a 'secret' scandal the other party or parties involved would have had to risk their own ridicule, condemnation and prosecution to give evidence, or there would have had to have been photographic or written evidence (like love letters) provided of such acts (highly unlikely for such men I think, who I really cannot see being easily caught in such a trap or ever writing love letters to their other partners). Sodomy cannot have been an easy 'crime' to prove no matter what anyone suspected precisely because it is generally something done between people in private and something which none of the men involved would likely want exposing. I think this definitely makes it believable that both Moriarty and Moran could have been separately both suspected of sodomy and the rumours were enough to force their retirement from their professions, but that nobody could actually prove anything thus they were not ever officially arrested or charged for the 'crime'.

Further, after Moriarty was the victim of those mysterious rumours, "he was compelled to resign his chair and to come down to London, where he set up as an army coach" (from The Final Problem).

This certainly could have provided him with the opportunity to meet Moran in their younger days and form the beginnings of an attachment with him then, one that might lead him years later, after Moran retires from the army, to seek out the colonel again. Perhaps Moriarty simply assumes that Moran is precisely what he needs as his second in command/top assassin, but it's equally plausible that Moriarty already had some degree of more private affection for Moran which led him to seek out Moran again later.

**Marital status and sexual orientation:**

"He is unmarried" - Sherlock Holmes on Moriarty in  _The Valley of Fear_

Moriarty seems to be getting on in years when Holmes says this, so, sure, he might have been married previously and lost his wife or fell in love with a woman but for whatever reason didn't or couldn't marry her or maybe he does like women but he's just never found a woman he wanted to marry. Or, equally plausibly, maybe he's never been married and he's not the marrying kind because he's gay or asexual/aromantic or a combination of these.

As for Moran, nothing is said canonically about his marital status, despite Holmes listing, as recorded in  _The Empty House_ , various other personal details about Moran, including his father's name and his city of birth. I think the fact that Holmes does not refer to Moran being married is certainly strongly indicative that Moran too is not or has never been married and is not the marrying kind either. I do think in part that's probably because Moran simply enjoys brief flings more than committed relationships and never wanted to be 'tied down' with marriage. But this can easily also suggest that Moran cannot marry the person he's in love with because that person is male.

There is nothing in the canon that states that either of them is straight. There is no reference to a romantic or sexual partner for either of them. No that does not automatically make them queer, but nor does it make them canonically straight. All it means is that canonically their sexualities are undefined, basically because such factors are never relevant to the plot. Therefore even ignoring other evidence, one or both being queer is at least an equally valid interpretation to them being straight.

**The Virile Tiger:**

"It was a tremendously virile and yet sinister face which was turned towards us" - Watson on Moran in  _The Empty House_

The fact that Watson describes Moran as "virile" can be interpreted as Moran being a very sexual man, having a strong libido and basically sleeping around a hell of a lot. That line is probably where the idea of Moran as a womaniser stems from (as portrayed by Kim Newman for instance). But since he's not canonically established as straight there's no reason to assume all (or even any) of his sexual partners have been female. He attended boarding school and he's an ex-army man and would have spent a great deal of time in close and often even very intimate contact with males. He can so easily be read as gay or bisexual. (And no I'm not saying Moran would sleep around with loads of men and women because he's bisexual, I think Moran would sleep around with loads of men and women (at least before his relationship with Moriarty) simply because he's Moran, a man with a high sex drive, who enjoys sex and happens to be attracted to both men and women.)

**Moran's regard for Moriarty:**

Moran is seemingly intensely loyal to his professor. Three years after Moriarty's death(/disappearance) at the Reichenbach Falls and he is still prepared to kill Moriarty's murderer, an act which becomes his downfall. He could have simply let the matter drop and got on with his life but still he wants to avenge his employer's and friend's death. His behaviour when he tries to kill Holmes however does not seem like the usual cold, calculating, emotionless behaviour he would surely display if he is such a capable assassin and hunter.

"The man seemed to be beside himself with excitement. His two eyes shone like stars, and his features were working convulsively"

"his eyes were fixed upon Holmes's face with an expression in which hatred and amazement were equally blended."

""I wonder that my very simple stratagem could deceive so old a shikari," said Holmes. "It must be very familiar to you."

"Colonel Moran sprang forward with a snarl of rage, but the constables dragged him back. The fury upon his face was terrible to look at."

Moran appears to be extremely emotional for a supposedly cold-blooded assassin, and very likely it is because of his emotions that Holmes has succeeded in tricking him using a tactic that Moran should be at least partly familiar with. So why would he be so emotional? Perhaps because of his love for Moriarty, and his intense grief at his loss?

I do think Moran's loyalty to Moriarty is twofold. On a professional level he is deeply loyal to him because Moran enjoys the hunt and he enjoys organising people and telling them what to do whilst still having a control structure around and above him. He had this with the army and after he lost that he moved into a similar situation with Moriarty. Unlike the army though I think Moriarty respects Moran and his skills more and rewards him financially more so his loyalty to him is deeper than it ever was to 'Queen and country'.

But also I think his loyalty is private as well, because he loves Moriarty. Moran I'm sure has some major daddy issues (I definitely think I've covered that elsewhere before so I won't go into that more here) which has partly also led him to latch on to Moriarty as a sort of paternal figure and form a deep attachment to him, which has further intensified his loyalty to the professor.

Holmes even refers to Moran earlier in  _The Empty House_  as "the bosom friend of Moriarty". Perhaps they are 'just' friends, but the use of "bosom friend", with its implications of the heart, rather than simply "friend" or "close friend" or even something as impersonal as "employee" or "lieutenant" or "chief of staff" (all of which Moran is or has been) has clear implications of a very strong form of affection, be it a very deep form of platonic love or romantic love. It may well even indicate that Doyle intended to imply a more romantic attachment between the pair and perhaps therefore that Holmes knows of such a relationship between them.

**Moriarty's regard for Moran:**

Moran's regard for Moriarty could be seen as a one-sided thing, perhaps Moriarty likes him but is not in love with him. However, while this is also a valid interpretation it is equally possible to interpret Moran's feelings as reciprocated.

"It was at this time that he was sought out by Professor Moriarty, to whom for a time he was chief of the staff. Moriarty supplied him liberally with money, and used him only in one or two very high-class jobs, which no ordinary criminal could have undertaken." - Holmes on Moran in  _The Empty House._

As mentioned earlier, Moriarty could realistically have associated with Moran in their younger days through his becoming an army coach and therefore could have developed some feelings for Moran then which in part led to him seeking out Moran upon Moran's retirement from the army. I don't see any reason why even Moriarty and Moran couldn't have remained in contact even while Moran was in the army, even if it was simply by writing letters to each other as friends.

After being sought out by the professor then later apparently Moran ceases to be, at some point, Moriarty's chief of staff (who as such earned more than the prime minister, according to Holmes in  _The Valley of Fear_ ) and only carries out a couple of jobs for him, yet he is still retained, still paid extremely well and still protected from arrest and prosecution ("So cleverly was the colonel concealed that, even when the Moriarty gang was broken up, we could not incriminate him" -  _The Empty House_ ).

Evidently Moriarty respects Moran's skills, perhaps particularly with weaponry, planning out assassinations and for his emotional capacity for killing, but there could be more to it than solely a professional regard - far more. Would Moriarty simply keep Moran around and so well paid and protected if Moran was used "only" in a couple of jobs? Perhaps he is simply protecting his own interests as Moran knows too much to allow him to go elsewhere, or perhaps Moran really  _is_  far more important to him privately and not just professionally. To keep Moran "concealed" also seems to have undercurrents of some other regard for him, a more private, more romantic regard, as other men may keep women "concealed", setting up courtesans as their kept mistresses in flats or houses away from their family or their respectable lives. I don't think it's improbable that Moriarty regards Moran as akin to his mistress or even his full on romantic partner, practically a husband to him, whom he displays possessiveness about not just because Moran is useful or because Moran knows too much about him, but also because he simply loves Moran and wants to keep him safe, secure and contented. 

**In conclusion:**

My point is not to say that Moriarty/Moran as a romantic relationship is definitely canon (especially when I know realistically that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle probably never even considered or cared about their sexual orientations) but that it IS an extremely valid interpretation.

Also as a final point, if Moriarty and Moran are taken as being mirrors to Holmes and Watson (something which is hinted at in canon and was certainly developed from the canon in Ritchie!verse), Holmes and Watson love each other. Whether one takes this as platonic or romantic love or both is up to the individual, but their love for each other is there; it's real; it's canonical. And as mirrors to those characters, surely then Moriarty and Moran loving each other is even more plausible, and therefore Moriarty/Moran, in whatever form their sexualities take, no matter even if their own take on romance perhaps may be a darker, far more dangerous form, is also a very real possibility.


End file.
